Nine people sustained injuries on July 4th when a docked fishing boat exploded in Chesapeake City, Maryland. Four of the injured were airlifted to a hospital due to the severity of their conditions, according to the Maryland State Fire Marshal's Office.
The incident occurred around 4:20 p.m. on the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal in Chesapeake City, a town located northeast of Baltimore on the Delaware border. The 32-foot-long boat had recently refueled at Schaefer's Canal House before the explosion.
Of the nine injured, seven were on the boat and two were on a nearby dock. Maryland State Police Aviation Command transported four victims, who suffered serious burns, to a Christiana Care Health Net facility. The remaining injured individuals were taken to local hospitals by ambulance.
Authorities have not publicly identified any of the victims, and their current conditions are unclear. No fatalities have been reported.
The explosion triggered a significant emergency response involving multiple helicopters, paramedics, and fire companies. The cause of the explosion is currently under investigation by the Maryland State Fire Marshal's Office.
This incident is one of several boating accidents reported across the country during the holiday weekend. In Virginia Beach, four people were rescued after their boat capsized. In Maryland's Patapsco River, two adults and two children were hospitalized after their boat caught fire, with some suffering burns but all reportedly in stable condition. Separately, in Wisconsin, three young children died when their boat capsized on Geneva Lake during a storm, while six adults and another child were rescued.